Changes to Exchange Out-of-Office Assistant
Changes have been made to the Out-of-Office Assistant feature in Exchange email. In the past, out-of-office replies were limited to other campus Exchange users; WebMail users and off-campus colleagues did not receive them. ITS received many requests that the service be adjusted to send out-of-office replies to everyone.

In order to accommodate these requests, Exchange Out-of-Office Assistant now sends an out-of-office reply to anyone who sends you a message while Out-of-Office Assistant is turned on. You may wish to amend your out-of-office messages or create rules to limit who receives them. Please note that the ability to set up rules is not available in Outlook Web Access.

This practice is consistent with the Vacation feature in WebMail, which has always replied to all messages sent explicitly to your email address. Some Exchange users have expressed concern that out-of-office replies may validate email addresses to junk mailers, thereby increasing the risk of spam. The University's robust spam filtering system catches a great deal of spam before it reaches your mailbox. You can further reduce unwanted messages by adjusting the settings on your machine (see http://www.albany.edu/its/app_details_spam_filtering_uamail.htm for details). ITS believes the net benefits of broader out-of-office replies will be received positively by our colleagues.

Limiting who receives your out-of-office messages
You may wish to prevent out-of-office messages from going to Listserv lists you are subscribed to or from being sent to particular individuals. Follow the steps below to create a rule that prevents out-of-office replies from going to people or groups who you do not want to receive your out-of-office message.

1. Compile a list of addresses for all people and/or listservs that should not receive your out-of-office message.
2. From the “Tools” menu, open Out-of-Office Assistant.
3. Make sure the textbox labeled “AutoReply only once to each sender with the following text” is empty.
4. Select the “Add Rule” option. This will open a “Edit Rule” dialog box.
5. In the “Sent To” section, enter the email address for each listserv that should not receive your out-of-office message. If there are multiple addresses, separate each one with a semi-colon and a space (e.g., list1@listserv.albany.edu; list2@listserv.albany.edu.)
6. Click the “Advanced” button. Check the box labeled “Only items that do not match these conditions.” Click “OK” to close the window. You will return to the “Edit Rule” dialog box.
7. In the “Perform these actions” box, check the box labeled “Reply with.”
8. Click on the “Template” button. This will open a new message. Type in your out-of-office notification. Close the message and save your changes. You will return to the “Edit Rule” dialog box.
9. Click on “OK” to save all your changes. You will be returned to the “Out of Office Assistant” dialog box.
10. Select the “I am currently out of the office” option.

If you have additional questions or would like more information on spam filtering, please submit a request to the ITS Service Desk.